Durant will miss 6-8 weeks while recovering from his surgery.
On Thursday, the Oklahoma City Thunder confirmed that small forward Kevin Durant had a successful surgery.
The reigning MVP was diagnosed with a fractured foot on Saturday. He complained of an ache on his right foot after practice.
“After practice yesterday, Kevin made us aware of discomfort in his right foot. We proceeded to perform the necessary imaging studies to determine the cause of his discomfort. At this stage, Kevin has been diagnosed with a Jones fracture. Traditional treatment of this injury requires a surgical procedure and recent NBA cases have resulted in a return to play in 6-8 weeks,” said Sam Presti, GM of the Thunder on Sunday.
A Jones fracture is an injury that occurs at the base of the small toe, near the mid-foot area.
After the injury, Durant was not certain if he would go through with a surgery, but today it was confirmed that Durant went through a successful procedure where a screw was placed inside his foot to connect the fractured bones. ESPN reports that Dr. Robert Anderson at the OrthoCarolina Foot and Ankle Clinic in Charlotte, N.C performed the operation.
Last season, Durant averaged 32 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists and led the league in minutes played. Following the surgery, Durant will most likely miss anywhere between 6 to 8 weeks.
“We are very fortunate that Kevin notified us [Saturday] and that we're kind of catching it on the front end, before this became more of an acute issue,” said Presti after the surgery.
Durant’s absence in the beginning of the season will alter the running for this season’s MVP award. Fellow teammate Russell Westbrook is a contender for the title. Without his teammate, Westbrook has shown a trend of taking more shots, having lower field goal percentage, and scoring more points. Durant has not missed many games (16 games total in 7 seasons) and Westbrook has not had the opportunity for an extended period of spotlight, until now.
